The Georgia Peaches

I saw this movie as a teen. I loved it. Very comical and musically

fun. Would love to see it again & again!!! If I could find it somewhere. I think my children would love enjoy it a lot. This movie really hit home for me in many different ways as an impressionable teen.

In recent years, B movie producer Roger Corman has been making product for television networks like the SyFy channel, but not many people know that he had started making product for television several decades earlier. "The Georgia Peaches" was made for American television as a series pilot. Seeing it, it isn't hard to figure out why this wasn't picked up for a subsequent TV series. The movie has decent production values (it was shown in theaters overseas), and Dirk Benedict, Tanya Tucker, and Terri Nunn make appealing leads. But the majority of the movie is dull. There isn't that much action, and with it being made for TV there is no swearing, sex, or nudity on display (though the female leads don't appear to be wearing bras in some scenes.) Watching it, you'll wonder why this TV movie was resurrected for DVD when there are so many better made-for-TV movies out there that are languishing on shelves.

I first discovered The Georgia Peaches by accident on YouTube and after learning about, I decided to check it out. I absolutely loved it and it was a blast to watch being a Trans Am enthusiast, a Smokey and the Bandit and Dukes of Hazzard fan. I heard many negative things about this movie, more particularly from "Dukes" fans who claim it was a knock off of the series. This movie while does share some of the elements of Bandit and Dukes, it didn't feel like a knock off at all and did more of its own thing IMO. One thing that did strike me was that this movie seemed to be based off of a Dukes episode that aired months before this movie titled "Mason Dixon Girls" which had two girls and their male friend out whit bad guys, which the Dukes help out in. In the episode, they are seen driving a silver 1979 Trans Am convertible with blue decals. Georgia Peaches has a very similar format that has two girls and their male accomplice, who drives a silver Trans Am, but is an 1980 model with the 301 turbo and has red interior with the silver/red decals. Both programs were aired on CBS which makes it the more interesting.

Given the task to produce this film was Roger Corman and his studio, who mainly produce low-budget, yet very thrilling car action films with credits such as Cannonball (1976), Eat My Dust (1976), and Grand Theft Auto (1977). You can tell that they did not have a lot of money to work with this movie, but they did the very best they could and utilized it very well with great car chases, good stunt work and some car crashes, and a good cast.

Dirk Benedict was great and makes for a really great good ole boy character driving the Trans Am around and out-pacing the cops. Being a Trans Am enthusiast myself, the car was outstanding and the filmmakers added a unique feature to the car that not even the Dukes boys in the General Lee never thought of using to stop bad guys or the cops. The Trans Am here has a firing mechanism referred to as the claw that can tear out the rear axles of enemy vehicles and destroying evidence of moonshine. Tanya Tucker was great and does a good job acting considering she isn't a professional actress. Everybody was also great and gave their best in this film.

If you are a fan of Smokey and the Bandit, Dukes of Hazzard, or car chase films, I highly recommend this movie. For a low budget movie Georgia Peaches/Follow that Car was a blast to watch and its a very underrated gem of the 70's and 80's car chase genre. 8/10.

This unsold pilot for a possible TV series isn't exactly that bad, even if it's in the same vein of The Dukes of Hazzard and Smokey and the Bandit, but the three main leads are likable. Tanya Tucker and Terri Nunn are sisters who operate a auto garage in the rural south. Their best friend is Dusty Tyree (Dirk Benedict), a local moonshiner always making fools out of the local cops. However, they find themselves in hot water with local crime boss Vivian Stark (Sally Kirkland), who plants hot merchandise in their garage and take the fall for it. To avoid having their garage condemned and a lengthy prison sentence, the three go undercover with bumbling treasury agent Randolph Dukane (Lane Smith) to bust Stark's operation. The supporting cast is pretty solid for a TV movie: Noble Willingham as a wealthy playboy smitten with Nunn and Burton Gilliam and David Hayward as Stark's flunkies. There's enough car chase action to keep the viewer tuned in and Tucker performs a few songs, as well.

I remember this movie being filmed in the town I lived in back in 1980. I was in so love with Dirk Benedict and still vividly remember the day I spent on the set that day as a little girl taking in everything and every action.

The movie, sadly, was a complete disappointment. Dirk, Noble and Lane were the real actors. Everyone and everything else about the movie is very much forgettable.

I'll keep the memories and the photos from that day but I'd rather forget the movie.

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